Story By: Todd Ceisner

Kudos to the Bluegrass State for its plans to add fishing to the list of sanctioned high school sports in Kentucky for the 2012-13 school year.

“We’re not going to be afraid of trying something new around here,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett in the January edition of High School Today, the monthly newsletter of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA). “I hope [nobody’s] thinking that this is just going to be more of the same. No way. We’re going to try some new things; it’s going to take people outside their comfort zone. But that’s OK, because we’re going to do what the kids need.”

A couple weeks ago, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced that 231 high schools signed up to participate in its statewide tournament. Currently, Illinois is the only state that conducts such an event at the high school level.

All of this got me to thinking that my native New York needs to get behind this movement sooner rather than later, as do a lot of states. New York is blessed with a number of reputable bass lakes (Erie, Oneida, Champlain, anyone?) and the fall would be the ideal time for a little competition in my corner of the world. With minimal costs to school districts, this might be one of the best ways to get more young people involved in the sport.

NC Camo members took action on this issue from an alert last September.  Thank you for taking action and here is the result:
With bipartisan support the U.S. House of Representatives today approved the most significant pro-sportsmen legislation in 15 years.  H.R. 4089, which passed by a vote of 274-146, is a package of high priority issues supported by nationally prominent conservation and sportsmen’s organizations.        

Entitled The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012, H.R. 4089:

• Classifies Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service lands (over 700 million acres) as open to hunting, fishing and recreational shooting unless closed or restricted based on scientific evidence;
• Confirms that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot ban lead in traditional ammunition or in sport fishing gear (that responsibility resides with the US Fish and Wildlife Service);

• Protects recreational shooting on BLM National Monument land; and
• Allows the import of legally hunted polar bear trophies now tangled in federal red-tape.

A major focus of the organizations that helped craft H.R. 4089 is to prevent frivolous lawsuits that unfairly restrict the rights of hunters, anglers and shooters and limit wildlife conservation and management.  Over the last decade anti-hunting groups and their trial lawyers have filed multiple suits in courts arguing that existing federal law does not allow, or requires restrictions on fishing, hunting, and shooting on federal public lands.  Defending against these suits has cost state and federal wildlife agencies and sportsmen’s organizations millions of dollars.

The bill also protects fishing tackle and ammunition from attacks.  Recently, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue the federal government to force the U.S. EPA to ban the use of lead in ammunition and fishing tackle.  Their claim misrepresented the intent of the Toxic Substance Control Act which was enacted in 1976 to allow the EPA to regulate new commercial chemicals entering the market and the distribution of existing chemicals found to pose unreasonable risks to public health or the environment.  It was never intended to allow the regulation of ammunition and fishing tackle. 

H.R. 4089 spells out in plain language that hunting, fishing and recreational shooting are legitimate uses of federal public lands and that these lands are open, as a matter of law, to these traditional activities.  And, it makes it crystal clear that the U.S. EPA does not have the authority to restrict American’s choices of ammunition and fishing tackle.

H.R. 4089 is supported by an array of sporting conservation groups including the American Sportfishing Association, Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Safari Club International, and US Sportsmen’s Alliance.  A complete listing of supporters can be found here.

NC Camo Coalition is a project of the NC Wildlife Federation.

Finishing in first place was Ed Collier with a five fish limit weighing 12.75 pounds. Ed also had the lunker which weighed 4.12 pounds. Ed used a spinnerbait, carolina rig, and senkos to catch his limit. Brent Boyette followed up his success at the Southern Divisional with a second place finish. Brent had a five fish limit that weighed 11.7 pounds. In third place was the father and son team of Brett and Dominick Latta. They also had a five fish limit with a final weight of 10.72 pounds.

With two events down Joey Worley is at the top of the leaderboard for Angler of the Year with 194 points. Wayne Worley and Perry Doan are in second and third place respectively. Full results available on the Results page

As with the Jordan tournament, seven members of the Youth Club fished as well.

• Max Prince
• Hunter Mizeur
• Brock Johnson
• Hunter Boyette
• Chris Chavez
• Ethan Howard
• Kevin Peppers

Kevin finished first with a weight of 6.86 pounds and Ethan finished second with a weight of 3.96 pounds.

A special thanks to Jeff Narron, Ed Collier, Mike Brinchek, and Perry Doan for taking one of the youth members with them. Thank you also goes out to Clifford Chavez who served as a boat captain for two youth.

Photo: Adam Harbottle

By Craig Lamb

Apr 6, 2012

Unless you see B.A.S.S. tournament angler Carson Orellana, you’d never guess he’s just 16 years old. That’s because for somebody that age he carries the marketing credentials of a fully-grown adult pro.  

He’s got a cleverly appointed website (carsonorellana.com), a growing list of sponsors, and a professionally designed logo. That logo is emblazoned across his tournament jerseys and fully wrapped boat.

He aspires to some day win the Bassmaster Classic. Sound familiar? Look out Kevin VanDam, because here he comes. 

Orellana fished the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open as an amateur on Lake Norman, his home lake. The week prior he competed on Lake Okeechobee at the Junior Bassmaster competition held during the Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Southern Divisional. Prior to that Orellana kicked off his tournament season as a non-boater at the Southern Open held in Florida at the Harris Chain.

He plans to fish the remaining Open later this season.  Check out his website and you’ll find a long list of tournaments fished last year and before. Top five finishes stand out. 

“So far it’s been a good learning experience,” he said. “I hope to keep taking it to the next level.” The pros aren’t in danger yet of the next KVD wrecking havoc on the B.A.S.S. tour. That’s because Orellana, a teenager, is enrolled in high school.

“Sometimes the events have fallen within school holidays and other times we’ve had to arrange makeup days,” said Rick Orellana, his father. “He’s a good, solid ‘A’ student and takes a lot of honors classes. That’s one of the prerequisites we have for him in order to do this,” he added.

Rick works as a fabricator for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the heart of NASCAR country. Five years ago he moved the family from Charlotte to Lake Norman. Carson went fishing and hasn’t stopped.  “Carson just took to fishing like any kid, but we quickly realized he had an extreme passion for it,” he said. “He would stay out on the dock for hours and hours.”

Carson, then 11, would become befriended by a growing list of mentors impressed with that passion for bass fishing. The first to step up was Rick’s co-worker Jason Shapiro, an avid tournament angler and JGR car chief for the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.  He invited Carson to join him as a partner at charity bass tournaments in the area.

Shapiro’s network of fishing industry contacts quickly opened doors for the youngster.  That led to Carson’s joining the Southfork Bassmasters’ junior club in 2010.

It proved to be the turning point in his very tentative timeline as a tournament angler. The club is North Carolina’s largest with 40 junior members. Last year he won angler of the year and state titles in his age division. 

The next mentor to appear was Roy Sanford, a pro and full-time guide at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The connection occurred as Sanford was casting around the Orellana’s dock during practice for last year’s Open.  “I went down to the dock and started chatting with him, told him about Carson, and he said he wanted to meet him,” recounted Rick. 

Sanford invited Carson to join him during practice and a friendship began. Sanford, a crappie and bass guide, extended an invitation for Carson to travel to Texas. Last summer he spent several weeks as a deck hand on Sanford’s crappie boat.  “I’ve been around this a long, long time,” said Sanford. “He’s hungry for advice, wants to learn. He’s got the potential to become a great pro someday.”

Last summer, Carson mowed lawns and saved up enough money to pay $5,000 for his first bass boat. His sponsor, BOE Marine, has wrapped the boat with his sponsor logos. 

Will he be the next KVD? If you look at his track record so far, there’s a chance.

Stay tuned.

The Five County Bassmasters’ very own, Brent Boyette, will represent North Carolina at the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship later this year in Alabama.

Competing in his very first Southern Divisional, Boyette took the lead on day number one and never looked back. Although North Carolina teammate, Chuck Murray, gave Boyette a run for his money on the final day of competition Boyette overcame the sudden charge from Murray to walk away with a the win, thus putting him one step closer to qualification for the prestigious 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

Boyette’s pattern consisted of catching schooling fish early each day to fill his limit quickly and then proceeded to pitch plastics and jigs to bulrush cover to upgrade his catch. As noted by many anglers within the event, timing was key, as small groups of fish would congregate into one area to feed during short periods within the day, therefore offering the anglers positioned in these “perfect” areas the chance to catch multiple fish on consecutive casts. Pitch after pitch into the heavy cover, at these peak feeding times, would offer up bites from five to eight pound Okeechobee giants, yet the fish had the deck stacked in their favor with the heavy bulrush cover, as some of these giants would tangle within the cover, just out of reach of the anglers and eventually shake loose. Boyette experienced such the case and thought his shot at the win had escaped him, but was able to stay focused and overcome the lost opportunity with additional bites.

Congratulations to Five County Bassmasters’ club member Brent Boyette – The 2012 North Carolina / B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship qualifier.

Perry Doan finished second with a weight of 8.26.

Tim Gardner finished third with a weight of 7.3.

Left to right: Joey Worley, Wayne Worley, Perry Doan

6 members of the Clayton High B.A.S.S. Club participated in the tournament:

• April Collier
• Max Prince
• Daniel Moss
• Hunter Mizeur
• Chris Chavez
• Brock Johnson

Max Prince was the only one to weigh in fish.  He had three fish that weighed 4.24 lbs.

A special thanks to Cliff Chavez and Jimmy Wilkinson who both served as boat captains carrying two youth members each with them.  The other two youth fished with Perry Doan and Randy Parker.

Click HERE for map

During a recent NC B.A.S.S. Federation Nation annual meeting members of the NC Wildlife Resource Commission reported on the current largemouth bass status in the coastal regions of North Carolina. These areas were hit hard by hurricane Irene in 2011 resulting in massive fish kills. Kevin Dockendorf, Coastal Research Coordinator, provided a detailed presentation that covered post hurricane Isabel (2003) findings, including research data from a massive restocking effort in 2004, with additional detailed information from studies conducted in the years following, continuing through hurricane Irene. To see the slideshow (PDF File) used during the presentation click below.

View Presentation

The 2011 North Carolina General Assembly deferred action on the Coastal Game Fish Bill (HB 353) that would have designated speckled sea trout, red drum, and striped bass as coastal game fish.  Coastal game fish status would mean that these three fish could be taken only with hook and line and could not be sold. These fish are already game fish in inland waters where they occur but when they venture into joint or coastal waters, they are subject to commercial net fishing under liberal rules designed to maximize catch for sale, which has led to overfishing and depleted numbers.  Sport fishermen protested vigorously over the failure to act, which led the General Assembly to set up a special study committee to review the case for coastal game fish status and several other issues related to management of our marine fisheries.
The issues being considered by the Marine Fisheries Study Committee can be found at this link under the Marine Fisheries section.  The main issue about which NC Camo is alerting members is the proposal to create coastal game fish status for red drum, speckled sea trout, and striped bass; but, you may be interested in the others too. The findings and recommendations of the Marine Fisheries Study Committee will be reported to the General Assembly this Spring for action in their Budget Session.
Red drum, speckled sea trout, and striped bass account for only 3% of annual commercial finfish landings in NC by weight and account for only 2% of the dockside value to commercial fishermen.  In 2010, only 250 commercial fishermen had more than $2,000 in landings of these three species, separately or in combination, and less than 30 had landings that equaled or exceeded $10,000.  These figures as collected and presented by the Division of Marine Fisheries show that red drum, speckled sea trout, and striped bass are relatively minor components of the commercial harvest in NC by weight and by value to the commercial fisherman.
Conversely, figures from the Division of Marine Fisheries on the value of recreational fishery for these three species show the annual value to NC’s economy to be over $140,000,000.  This value comes from expenditures of recreational fishermen as they buy fishing equipment and supplies, travel to favorite fishing spots on the coast, and support thousands of small businesses and jobs in the process.  Sales of Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses show that well over 1 million people fish in our coastal waters each year.  Recreational fishing is big business for NC and can be even bigger.  The great thing about this source of growth in our economy is that no capital investment is required and it is truly “green” growth.  All we have to do is protect our fisheries resources and allocate them to their highest and best use for the people of NC.
The first meeting of the Marine Fisheries Study Committee was held on January 5, 2012 and was attended by dozens of recreational and commercial fishermen.  The agenda was mostly introductory for the committee members and no discussion with real substance occurred.  The next meeting is scheduled for February 2, 2011 at 1 pm in the Auditorium of the General Assembly, 116 West Jones Street.  The agenda for this next meeting is designed to give sport and commercial fishermen the opportunity to voice their concerns and ideas to the Marine Fisheries Study Committee on the issue of coastal game fish status for red drum, speckled sea trout, and striped bass and the other topics before the Committee.
NC Camo encourages all recreational fishermen who can to attend and speak in favor of game fish status for speckled sea trout, red drum, and striped bass.  The case for conservation of these three fish via coastal game fish designation is given in the NC Wildlife Federation’s Fall Journal and can be read at this link beginning on page 2.

Interested sportsmen can catch up with the history of the coastal game fish proposal and keep up with new developments on the North Carolina Sportsman Magazine website at this link.  Also, a hot link to the e-mail addresses of every member of the Marine Fisheries Study Committee is included.  Use them to contact the members to let them know you favor game fish status for speckled sea trout, red drum, and striped bass.
Finally, NC Camo has prepared a Take Action message you can send to your elected State Representative and Senator as a part of this alert.  Read it over and if you agree that speckled sea trout, red drum, and striped bass need and deserve coastal game fish status, send it out with a click of your mouse.

NC Camo Coalition is a project of the NC Wildlife Federation.

Source: www.keepamericafishing.org

Last November, 43,000 anglers like you helped to defeat an attempt to ban lead in fishing tackle nationwide when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a petition to ban lead in fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Despite the EPA’s ruling, this issue is not yet fully resolved. The petitioners have filed a law suit against the EPA’s decision and submitted a similar new petition to the agency that could still result in a ban on lead fishing tackle nationwide.

KeepAmericaFishing™ is once again asking anglers to oppose this unjustified petition and to rally behind legislation that will put an end to these unwarranted attacks on recreational fishing once and for all.

The Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act (S. 838/H.R. 1558) will prevent a federal ban on lead in recreational fishing tackle and help to ensure that any future regulations on fishing tackle are established based on scientific fact instead of unjustified petitions.

With anti-fishing organizations trying to stop fishing using whatever means they can, the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act is necessary to protect traditional fishing tackle, as well as ammunition, from unjustified bans that will harm the economy and reduce participation in traditional outdoor sports

Take Action Now!

To prevent the EPA from accepting this unwarranted petition and to assure passage of this important legislation, it’s critical that you send a loud and clear message to the EPA and your Members of Congress requesting their support of this effort.

For more information on why such a ban is unwarranted,visit the KeepAmericaFishing lead fishing tackle issue page.